In this article is the quote: "NASA's been doing genetic selection for a long time," he said. "You just don't call it that." Amazing what sometimes gets admitted.
Biologist: Space Travelers Can Benefit From Genetic Engineering
By Mike Wall
SPACE.com Senior Writer
posted: 01 November 2010
01:35 pm ET
MOFFETT FIELD,
Calif. — NASA's human spaceflight program might take some giant
leaps forward if the agency embraces genetic engineering techniques
more fully, according to genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter.
The biologist, who
established the J. Craig Venter Institute that created the world's
first
synthetic organism earlier this year,
told a crowd here Saturday (Oct. 30) that human space exploration
could benefit from more genetic screening and genetic engineering.
Such efforts could help better identify individuals most suited for
long space missions, as well as make space travel safer and more
efficient, he said.
"I think this
could change the shape of what NASA does, if you make the commitment
to do it," said Venter, who led a team that decoded the human
genome a decade ago.
Venter spoke to a
group of scientists and engineers who gathered at NASA's Ames
Research Center for two different meetings: a synthetic biology
workshop put on by NASA, and Space Manufacturing 14: Critical
Technologies for Space Settlement, organized by the nonprofit Space
Studies Institute.
Astronauts with
the right (genetic) stuff
Genetics techniques
could come in extremely handy during NASA's astronaut selection
process, Venter said. The space agency could screen candidates for
certain genes that help make good spaceflyers — once those genes
are identified, he added.
Genes that encode
robust bone regeneration, for example, would be a plus, helping
astronauts on long spaceflights battle the bone loss that is
typically a major side
effect
of living
in microgravity.
Also a plus for any prospective astronaut: genes that code for rapid
repair of DNA, which can be damaged by the high radiation levels in
space.
Genetic screening
would be a natural extension of what NASA already does — it would
just add a level of precision, according to Venter.
"NASA's been
doing genetic selection for a long time," he said. "You
just don't call it that."
Last summer, the
agency chose
just nine astronaut
candidates
— out of a pool of 3,500 — for its rigorous astronaut training
program based on a series of established spaceflight requirements and
in-depth interviews.
A new microbiome
At some point down
the road, NASA could also take advantage of genetic engineering
techniques to make long space journeys more efficient and easier on
astronauts, Venter said.
As an example, he
cited the human
microbiome, the teeming mass of microbes
that live on and inside every one of us. Every human body hosts about
100 trillion microbes — meaning the bugs outnumber our own cells by
a factor of at least 10 to one.
While humans only
have about 20,000 genes, our microbiome boasts a collective 10
million or so, Venter said. These microbes provide a lot of services,
from helping us digest our food to keeping our immune system's
inflammation response from going overboard.
With some tailoring,
the microbiome could help us out even more, according to Venter.
"Why not come
up with a synthetic microbiome?" he asked.
Theoretically,
scientists could engineer gut microbes that help astronauts take up
nutrients more efficiently. A synthetic microbiome could also
eliminate some pathogens, such as certain bacteria that can cause
dental disease. Other tweaks could improve astronauts' living
conditions, and perhaps their ability to get along with each other in
close quarters.
Body odor is
primarily caused by microbes, Venter said. A synthetic microbiome
could get rid of the offenders, as well as many gut microbes
responsible for excessive sulfur or methane production.
Food, fuel and
the future
Other genomics
efforts could one day create or design microbes to maximize the
production of food, water and renewable fuel, Venter said. Such
tailor-made
bugs could ease the difficulties of both
spaceflight and living on other planets.
Venter also raised
the possibility of genetically engineering potential astronauts to
handle the rigors of space and space travel.
The microbe
Deinococcus radiodurans, for example, can survive radiation
doses 7,000 times higher than those that would kill a human. The bug
can reassemble its DNA after its genetic material gets blasted apart
by powerful radiation, Venter said.
If scientists can
figure out how to incorporate such super-charged DNA repair genes
into the human genome, astronauts won't have to worry so much about
the damaging cosmic rays hurtling through space.
Engineering humans
would only come after long consideration and debate, Venter said. And
the technology needs to advance, too. Venter said his team hasn't had
much success, for example, working with the genome of D.
radiodurans outside its native cell.
"We're trying
to apply these tools in a wide variety of areas," Venter said.
"But we're just in the early stages."
Still, Venter said
space exploration could benefit greatly from the application of
genetic engineering, especially the creation of custom-built
organisms.
"I can't think
of an organization that could benefit from synthetic genomics more
than NASA," he said.Read more at www.space.com
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